Tag Archives: Religion

Think about your father, your brother, your son, your sister, your mother, your daughter, your grandchild, your uncle, your aunt, or any of the most closest relations that you may possibly have and consider close. Picture all of them in your mind with all the nicest memories you have of them till now. Recall all the moments where they’ve been there to comfort you- even if comforting meant to only have the knowledge that they’re there for you.

What was the last thing you said to your brother? What did you tell your son when you saw him last? Come on! Try recalling. Even if it was minutes ago.

Now imagine if I tell you that all these loved ones of yours just passed away in an accident or an act of terror that just lasted for a few seconds. Yes! You no longer have your father, brothers, mother, wife, daughter or son. You’ve lost all of them together.

Now say all those names again and tell yourself that they are DEAD. Never to be seen walking around the house, talking to you, laughing with you, crying with you, teasing you, or comforting you ever again.

This is how it is to the surivors of those who pass away in incidents where the news goes like: “5 members of the same family killed in the incident.” News that hardly means anything to us as we casually move on to the next news item without feeling the slightest of compassion for the deceased or their survivors. Forget about compassion, we’re probably not even consciously thankful to God that it wasn’t us in their place.

We’ve belittled the value of human life in our minds so much that we only consider ourselves and those whom we consider our own as humans. We’re comfortable in leaving it to God to take care of the rest of mankind but that too after God takes care of us in a manner that we deem fit.

A few years back, a friend’s cousin met with a road accident and required blood urgently. Upon receiving the message from that friend of mine I quickly spread the word in my circle of influence in order to make an attempt to arrange the required blood type quickly. A mutual friend of ours texted me back asking who the blood was required for. When I gave him the details he was very quick to respond in a manner that boiled my own blood quite instantly. He highlighted the fact that our friend (and therefore his cousin by that connection) belonged to a different sect. He also questioned me whether I was sure about asking people to donate blood for someone from another background.

I was flabbergasted at his response to say the least. All I could come up with in response to this was a simple question: What would you do if you find someone bleeding on the road requiring urgent medical attention? Would you take him to the hospital immediately or run a background check first confirming which religion, sect or group the person belongs to before deciding your next course of action?

Although his response was far less offensive to my surprise but since that day every time I recall the same question, I end up questioning myself for asking that question in the first place. I mean, let’s be honest here with ourselves. How many of us would even stop at the sight of a bleeding person on the road? Not many. Fortunately enough, the time hasn’t come yet when I could sadly yet confidently state ‘none of us’ in response to this very difficult question. But still, the continuously deteriorating situation is not something to write home about as far as compassion is concerned in our society.

Why does it have to take someone who is our own to make us feel the pain? Why has empathy been reduced to merely a topic that corporate trainers & motivational speakers charge huge sums to lecture about in workshops & training sessions? Why does blood have to be treated as blood only when it comes out of us?

All lives have to end one day. Some later than others. If you are reading this, you’re lucky to be not one of those who aren’t. Not because they don’t like reading what I write, but because they’re simply not alive anymore to do so.

Value life, and not just yours but every other human being alive. For every man and woman no matter what religion, sect, caste, group or ethnicity they belong to, and no matter how irrelevant they may be to you, they are someone’s own. Just like your parents, siblings, spouse or any other loved one, the mere thought of whose separation till the life hereafter absolutely sends shivers down your spine.

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We live in a discriminated civilization and our ill fate is that discrimination is the foundation of our society. Religion, region, race, language, color, development, education, economics and a lot more form the slabs of segregation throughout this global civilization.

As far as religion is concerned, differentiation is understandable but it should still not be mistaken for discrimination. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism etc. all support individual rights of their followers and strictly discourage discrimination. Hinduism however has a caste system for which there certainly are issues where Dalits are considered untouchable by the Brahmans for which their justification is that all this is mentioned in their Shastras (Holy books). The Indian constitution discourages this attitude and protects individual rights.

Discrimination however does not end here, there’s a lot more to it. When I look around myself and carefully observe the society I am a part of, I can see many facets of discrimination.

For instance, when parents look for a bride for their son, they do not want a widow or a divorced woman as their daughter-in-law no matter how young the available option is. Their first and mostly the only choice is an unmarried- or as they call it an ‘untouched’ girl. Islam has no prohibition on a girl getting remarried after she has gotten a divorce or if her first husband dies, but our society has formed its own laws and prohibitions. They may however compromise if the widow or divorcee was to be a green card holder or the lone heiress of an empire.

Same is the case in academics and professions, engineers and doctors supersede all other professionals; that is what people know about these two professions, what they don’t know is that even within these two professions there is discrimination. There are good engineers & doctors and then there are the bad ones. In college, the ones who get better grades are good engineers, no matter what means they use to get those good grades. Conceptual learning is not really encouraged until it bears marks.

Professionally, the one who earns more is a good engineer. Same implies when people look for a son-in-law, the first choice is a doctor or engineer, and the second step is to choose an engineer or doctor who earns more than his contemporaries. I read a very interesting but true SMS a few days ago, which said: “He looks for a woman with a good past and she looks for a man with a good future.”

When we look at our family structure itself, we won’t be surprised to see discrimination there also. Most parents prefer and pray to have boys rather than girls whenever a new born is expected. When the result doesn’t match their expectation or liking, the poor girls have to bear the grudge for their very existence throughout their lives by being denied the independence and freedom of expression which their opposite gender may enjoy from their birth till the day they die.

Families more inclined towards religion exercise the discrimination in a way that the daughters have to strictly obey Islamic traditions by doing proper ‘parda’ (veil or abaya) and keep their lips sealed when it comes to making any choice, be it choosing a degree, friend or even a groom. The sons in the family however are free to make their choices. They are the ones who’ll be responsible for carrying the family name forward in the form of a new generation; they are the family’s pride. Unlike the strict obedience of Islamic laws, traditions and rituals which their sisters have to adhere to, they have a far more relaxed environment provided by the parents. They aren’t generally forced to grow beards or adhere to Islamic rituals like their sisters are compelled to do ‘parda’, they aren’t asked too much about what they do and who they hang out with, they are given the freedom to choose their degrees, professions and even life partners.

Parents get away by stating how naughty their son is when they’re told that he has several girlfriends. The situation is different however when they even hear a slight rumor about their daughter having a male friend.

I do not intend to challenge the true Islamic laws and traditions in any way but the same Islamic laws and traditions also do not allow men to live a life that is no-holds-barred.

I also understand that a lot is happening in our society in the name of equality and modernization that is totally unjustifiable and absurd. But still, the dilemma mentioned above is a reality which we must accept.

Now let’s come to those who use the term ‘equal rights’ in a completely different manner, the upper class and ultra-modern segment of our society. They look down upon anyone and everyone who has a weaker monetary backbone than theirs. It’s a brand conscious segment of society where discrimination is based upon Ray ban, Gucci, Prada and Armani.

I’m not sure how to conclude this piece as there doesn’t seem to be an end to this discrimination in our society. The cracked society we are part of has so many pieces which I have failed to look upon this time. Maybe I’ll have to write more someday, maybe I’ll have to cry more.